What IS Life?

[Guille]

That is one of the major questions for humanity. I want to know your knowledge and your belief.
Specially, I want us to define the concept of life. What says that something lives? What conditions are required for life? What does living imply?
Some other questions will come later.

[chazzysaw]

That is one of the major questions for humanity. I want to know your knowledge and your belief.
Specially, I want us to define the concept of life. What says that something lives? What conditions are required for life? What does living imply?
Some other questions will come later.

This is an interesting question. I hope others reply to this question, I’m interested in others opinion on this subject also. Being conscious, does that constitute life? The ability to reproduce or communicate? To ingest to maintain life, does that play a roll? I believe our planet Earth is alive, as well as the sun lives. I believe more things live then most people are willing to believe. There are more and more discoveries of life thriving in the most unusual and hostile places.

[harmonygirl]

I am not sure that I would define consciousness as life. For me a simpler question would be: What is not alive? I guess my answer would be nothing. Our anthropomorphic view of our environment has resulted in our discounting or devaluing life, if it does not resemble our form of life. So, for example, plant life. Very much life, yet no nervous system. I consider rocks alive. I consider Earth and other planets alive. I think if it has mass, it is alive. I guess I define life as energy (love). I don't know if light or darkness is alive, I haven't really thought about it. Good thread tho, Guille.

[TinyTree]

Some questions you need to address are:

1) Is a virus alive? It can self replicate, however only in a milieu which is highly contingent (it requires specific organisms to propagate).

2) Is a fire alive? It can self replicate, but does not inherit characteristics of the parentage particularly (besides being hot)

3) Is a powerful set of ideas alive as a meme? If it propagates itself from person to person, is that meme set alive, or not?

[Robert]

The Earth can be alive in the sense that it has weather, seasons, tectonic plates that move, cycles of warming and cooling, etc. There are many cycles in nature that cause the earth to evolve and mature in various ways. This could be considered life, but that depends on how loose or strict the definition of life is. If the Earth is alive then would a piece of the Earth be alive such as a rock or a doorknob. I think that I would be considered alive, but would my kidney or my shin bone be alive?

Anyway, the official scientific definition of life is essentially that all life is cellular.

[Unreal Zelta]

Guille,
Brilliant topic, asked by many people in many occasions. What is life? Instead of taking 100 pages to give you my personal interpretations. I'll only use a few sentences to do the exact. Life, no absolute value or definition, is nothing but a human speculation of our surroundings. As for any word, they do not have a definition, because there is no such thing as a definition. As I mentioned in my other posts, a definition or fact is just what we all agree on. Let's say I'm holding a pen in my hand, But if everyone agrees that's a pencil, then it's a pencil.

Therefore, life has no meaning. However, if you ask what are the qualities of being "Alive" Then the biological terms MR.C.GREEN (I think) will give you the idea. And your other question, “what are required for living" Well, for humans, water, oxygen, food and so on.

Best regards
Zelta

[Mohan.C]

I want us to define the concept of life.
I believe that life is the manifestation of energy into existence.

What says that something lives?
We say something lives. Because it is a term, invented by Humans.

What conditions are required for life?
Whatever may the condition be. It must be balanced. Or quite stable.

What does living imply?
Living implies you're conscious of the surrounding. That means you live in a plane of existence described by the conditions required to live.

[HappytheStripper]

That is one of the major questions for humanity. I want to know your knowledge and your belief.
Specially, I want us to define the concept of life. What says that something lives? What conditions are required for life? What does living imply?
Some other questions will come later.

Hi Guille.. Thanks for asking for my knowledge first in regards "what is life?" 96% of people like to beat me around the bush for it with minor questions and - I never believe it until I know it for myself through experience. (Sometimes repetitive)

1. In wanting to define the concept of life... One must first ask about conception... What is conception? What is life?
2. Conception is defined as a general set of specific instances or ideas occurring in a sequence and encoded in a self contained memory. The definition of life being defined as the quality that distinguishes living organisms and inanimate matter. This inanimate matter is akin to the single ovum cell and the functions such as growth and reproduction are responses to stimuli originating from a living organism in the environment and gifted...
3. What says that something lives? Interesting question Guille... What is something? The evolution of mankind kind is encoded as knowledge in a self contained memory, which when triggered gather and repeat this knowledge in sequence from a single ovum cell containing chromosomes to an external set of corresponding chromosomes. This code is historical in context and conception is perceived as the gathering of corresponding chromosomes to function in sequence through progressive stages... We then call this "growth" ... "the gift of life". Is that something? Maybe not... As the quality of the life conceived may be distorted and the encoded sequence unable to perform the necessary functions that determine life. So... life says therefore whatever the code reads and the quality of information contained and needed to distinguish particular functions on the smallest scale in sequence.
4. What conditions are required for life? Condition is defined as a state of being... and being is the result of time and space events coming together... and attractive forces seek to organize functions required for life. I say attractive forces mostly because it’s only the strongest of life forming that will survive even when the hosting environment is weak... Although the environment leads to poorer quality... so the better the quality the longer the life... Guess that means that quality is required for life and not the only state of being needed either. You would then ask what are the conditions in the environment determining the quality of the host? This would then become a question about the state of information encoded in the host and the hosting environment that proposes life. Which I may answer later...
5. For now I answer what does living imply? What does imply mean?? Suggestion?? Okay I suggest living in the moment... a moment I define as "now"... And based on this suggestion I propose... life is a combination of time and space events requiring a certain set of encoded instructions in a corresponding environment interfacing at a particular point along the continuum transforming various stages conditioned to grow in a sequential order using logic of the information contained within a single cell and historically known as nature.

I look forward to answering many more....

[Mohan.C]

You are giving more of the functions of one who is alive. The DNA the codes or codons the proteins etc…etc... But however your fifth point interests me most. Life is a set of time and space events requiring a certain set of..........
It is as good as anything in any text book. I should memorize it if the question is asked in my next exam.

[HappytheStripper]

It is as good as anything in any text book... A text book would have been easier.. thank you.. your words are encouraging.